CARE is a Community database on road accidents resulting in death or injury (no statistics on damage - only accidents). The major difference between CARE and most other existing international databases is the high level of disaggregation, i.e. CARE comprises detailed data on individual accidents as collected by the Member States. This structure allows for maximum flexibility and potential with regard to analysing the information contained in the system and opens up a whole set of new possibilities in the field of accident analysis.

The purpose of CARE system is to provide a powerful tool which would make it possible to identify and quantify road safety problems throughout the European roads, evaluate the efficiency of road safety measures, determine the relevance of Community actions and facilitate the exchange of experience in this field.

These statistical Tables are a first outcome of the CARE database combining a limited number of variables. The Commission services intend to add more combinations in order to maximise their usefulness for external users.

DESCRIPTION

Road traffic accidents in the European Union annually claim more than 40 000 lives and leave more than 1.7 million people injured, representing estimated costs, both direct and indirect, of 160 billion euro. Since 1984 a large number of measures to reduce road accidents have been taken at the Community level. Along with these measures, the Council decided on 30 November 1993 the creation of a Community database on road accidents (Council Decision 93/704/EC, Oj No L329 of 30.12.1993, pp. 63-65).

It was commonly agreed that such a database at the Community level (CARE - Community database on Accidents on the Roads in Europe) would make it possible to identify and quantify road safety problems, evaluate the efficiency of road safety measures, determine the relevance of Community actions and facilitate the exchange of experience in this field.

CARE focuses on road accidents resulting in death or injury (no statistics on damage - only accidents). The major difference between CARE and most other existing international databases is the high level of disaggregation, i.e. CARE comprises detailed data on individual accidents as collected by the Member States. This structure allows for maximum flexibility and potential with regard to analysing the information contained in the system and opens up a whole set of new possibilities in the field of accident analysis. Today, the only system comparable to CARE database is the FARS system (Fatality Analysis & Reporting System) operational since the 70s' at Federal level of the United States of America.

Instead of entering into a lengthy process of defining and adopting a new standardised structure and recognising that this would require considerable changes for the national administrations (such as the harmonisation of accident reports, definitions and collection methodologies) it has been decided that the national data sets should be integrated into the CARE database in their original national structure and definitions, with confidential data blanked out. Subsequently, the Commission provided a framework of transformation rules so that CARE provides compatible data. The process of improving "homogenisation" of accident data within CARE and the process of developing it are underway.

HISTORY

The first phase of the project (1988 - 1993) consisted of a feasibility study for the creation of CARE database which led to a positive result and thus, to the European Council decision of December 1993 for the creation of a disaggregate road accident database.

The second phase of the project (1993 - 1996) concerned the pilot operation of the CARE database , during which, CARE had to deal with all operational problems and be ready for an overall evaluation. The positive results of this evaluation opened the way for the further development of CARE into an integrated information system.

The third phase of the project (1996 -1999) concerned the harmonisation of the data contained inside the database allowing for international comparisons and exchange of experience. On this purpose, the compatibility of a number of data variables and values have been thoroughly examined and a set of 38 variables containing 488 common-definition values has been proposed.